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Cherry blossoms on the Kanda river - 2017

Today was a very good day and a very bad day. The good? Even though it was cloudy the cherry blossoms along the Kanda river in Takaido were looking fantastic. The bad? My beloved Pentax KII died. The rear display just fizzled, went black and said goodbye to me.

The Kanda river, just near Takaido station

I'd had Pentax cameras since 2012 when I bought my first, a K-30 which I kept for two years. It was my first "real" camera and I enjoyed it a lot. With its matte orange finish it always got some looks from people.

The Kanda river in Suginami ward is a tremendously good place for a walk in spring

Then in 2014 I bought the KII. For three years I never had a problem with it. Until it suddenly died. It had been such a good camera. Very easy to use, nice image quality and built like a tank. Pentax mightn't be as well-known these days as Canon or Nikon but it makes some great cameras.

While I was walking a pigeon decided to pose for a some pictures

What's next? Pentax again? As much as like the brand it is time for something different. I’ve already purchased a Fujifilm X-T2. One of the things that impresses me about the system is that it has great lenses for a very reasonable cost and it also has 4K video. I've only heard and read good things about it. So, from the next article onwards, all the pictures will be taken with the X-T2. And … I’ll be paying it off over a very long time!

Anyway, how were the Kanda's cherry blossoms? Very, very good. As I already mentioned, when I took the pictures it was very overcast but the trees were still looking fabulous. I only walked from Takaido station to Hamadayama and back again but it was a very nice walk, about two kilometers in length I think.

Suginami ward in Tokyo - what a great place to live

Even though the Kanda is called a river, I think of it as a canal. There is very little natural about it where I walked. The river has quite high concrete walls on both sides, but still, it looks great with the those trees. It is one of my favourite cherry blossom spots especially with the many small bridges that cross it. And once you get out of the Takaido station area, it flows through the backstreets of Suginami ward, so the people who live there must count themselves very lucky in spring.

I’ve never seen it crowded. Occasionally you’ll see a few people have picnics there, but most are joggers and people walking their dogs. Sometimes one or two photographers. It really is most peaceful. Already there is something to look forward to next year.